Women & Children's Research Team

Senior Research Midwife

Mary qualified as a midwife in 1991 and has worked at NBT since qualifying. Marys research career began in January 2015 when she was given the lead midwife role on the IMox study; she was subsequently promoted to the role of senior research midwife in 2017. Mary is also a faculty member of PROMPT maternity Foundation, a research champion for the West of England and is an alumni of the NIHR’s Advanced Leadership Programme. Mary aims to create a research culture at NBT where research is seen as ‘everyone’s daily business’ and where all women will have an opportunity to engage with world class research. Mary recently completed an MScR award with the University of Bristol. Using qualitative data from the women and midwives who participated in the ASSIST II study integrated qualitative study, Mary produced and will publish a framework to ensure that recruitment to intrapartum research is a whole pregnancy process, is fair and woman centred.

Senior Research Midwife

Nicky was a clinical midwife for 16 years before entering research in 2016, to lead on a large intrapartum study at the Great Western Hospital, Swindon.  From this, she developed a keen interest in research processes and the difference research can make to both current and future patients.  Keen to pursue this as a new career pathway, Nicky took a fixed term research contract at North Bristol NHS Trust, which was made permanent in October 2019.  From March 2019 Nicky has been substantively employed as a Senior Research Midwife, jointly leading the Womens’ and Childrens’ research team of nurses and midwives.  The growing portfolio covers studies in maternity, gynaecology and NICU and is successfully expanding in breadth and depth.  Nicky is also a Midwifery Research Champion working with a national network of midwives and nurses representing all Clinical Research Network regions and the devolved nations. 

Research Midwife

Annie has worked in research delivery across multiple studies for over seven years and witnessed first-hand how research improves the health and wellbeing of women and children in maternity services. She acknowledges that women need to be given the highest quality evidence to make decisions about their care and this can only be achieved through an NHS trust that is research active with motivated staff. She feels privileged to work in such an environment.

With 38 years of nursing and midwifery experience prior to entering the world of research, I have had the opportunity to use my clinical knowledge to support women considering and participating in research to make an informed choice when they become involved in the research process.

Research Midwife

Naomi joined the Women and Children’s Health research team in 2016 and brought with her a wealth of clinical midwifery
experience. She qualified as a midwife in 2002 focussing on mainly providing care to families within the labour ward and
antenatal settings. 

Naomi is a core member of the W&C research team and has engaged families in a wide range of maternity, gynaecology,
reproductive health and more recently, neonatal research studies. Naomi helps provide a link between the community and hospital settings by regularly attending NBT’s antenatal classes, giving families the opportunity to learn more about research much earlier in their pregnancies. 

She is keen to share the positive impact research can have on health care and recognises the wide range of benefits that 
taking part in research offers to patients, staff and NBT.

Research Midwife

Katie qualified as a Midwife in 2016 after studying for her midwifery degree at the University of the West of England. Since then she worked as a rotational Midwife at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon and completed two secondments to the Midwife led birth unit there. Katie joined the Women and Children’s research department on secondment in October 2019 to work on the AKID study, investigating Acute Kidney Injury and Diabetes in pregnancy. Katie is passionate about evidence based practice and the positive impact research can have on improving patient care.

Research Midwife

Anne is a midwife with extensive clinical experience particularly in intrapartum care. She is passionate about research and has previously been involved in Women and Children’s studies as a series of secondments before being welcomed to the team in a permanent role in 2021. Joining at an exciting time of expansion for Maternity Research at NBT, Anne particularly enjoys building relationships with the women and their families who are so enthusiastic about participating in studies. She is looking forward to the team continuing to expand their research portfolio and striving to lead pioneering research and improve care for generations to come.

Research Midwife

Rachel has enjoyed a varied midwifery career since 2016, working in different midwifery roles at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She qualified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2021. This process furthered her interest in women and children’s research. Rachel joined NBT in 2023. She is keen to ensure that the research process is available and accessible for all families with a baby in NICU. Rachel is enthusiastic about the impact research can have on health outcomes and in ensuring the highest quality, evidence-based compassionate care experience for families and those providing care.

Research Midwife

Paula is a Registered Nurse who also qualified as a midwife many years ago, and then developed a career in Neonatal Nursing.  She  joined the  Research Team with a wealth of clinical experience  to deliver Neonatal studies in 2021. Paula is passionate about expanding neonatal research, to ensure the care of  sick babies is evidence based  and of the highest quality.  She believes that every baby and every family have the right to take part in research.

Since joining the team 6 new national and international studies have opened, with the majority of parents willing to take part. The rapid expansion of projects has an impact on the workload  large neonatal clinical team and Paula is keen to train and motivate professionals, increasing awareness and knowledge to support the delivery of studies.

Research Midwife

Since qualifying as a Midwife in 2003, Michelle gained a wealth of experience in many clinical settings including Antenatal and Postnatal wards, Community and Central Delivery suite within United Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Trust. Michelle is passionate about the provision of high quality, evidence based care and recognises the fundamental role research plays in achieving this.  In 2022, Michelle decided to explore a more active role the world of NHS research and joined the Women's and Children's research department at North Bristol Trust.  Since joining, Michelle has worked on a variety of studies covering fertility and maternity care.  Michelle is enthusiastic about the promotion of embedding research into every day clinical care, ensuring opportunities are available to all women and their families.

Research Nurse

Ashleigh joined the Women and Children’s health research team in 2021. She is a qualified nurse with over 10 years of experience, she started her career in surgical admissions and went onto working in the Emergency department at Southmead Hospital. More recently Ashleigh started working in the fertility sector which led her to working in the Women and Children’s research team.

From personal and professional experience, Ashleigh is very passionate about fertility and women’s health research. When she first started working in research, she worked on the BRIST-IVF study, a study that looked to improve outcomes for couples undergoing IVF. Ashleigh now works with Katie on the Gynaecology research portfolio alongside the Gynaecology team on Cotswold Ward at Southmead Hospital.

Research Administrator

Sally joined North Bristol Trust in 2008 with an extensive secretarial and administrative background. She began working within the respiratory department and then transferred to the maternity Unit where she worked on Quantock Ward and Day Assessment Unit for 9 years as Ward Clerk. Sally joined the research department in 2017 as Trial Administrator for studies including Imox, Mifemiso, Parrot and ASSIST and ASSIST II. Her increasing knowledge of the Women & Children’s department and passion for research helps support and facilitate correct governance for studies within the maternity research department.

Research Midwife

Claudia is a Midwife that qualified in Chile in 2019, and has been in the UK since 2022. She has mainly worked in a central delivery suite setting and has recently joined the research team in November 2024. She is committed to improving maternal and neonatal outcomes by addressing disparities in care and reducing health inequalities through research and evidence-based practice.  

 Research Midwife

After graduating from The University of Nottingham in 2015, Laura worked as a midwife at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust before moving to NBT in 2016.  She has worked in all areas of clinical midwifery, both in the UK and abroad, with a particular focus on providing woman-centred intrapartum care in midwife-led settings. She has been a part of the Mendip Birth Centre and homebirth teams at NBT since 2018 and joined the Women’s and Children’s research team in 2024. She is passionate about women and their families receiving both evidence-based and individualised maternity care, and loves being able to support families who want to contribute to our knowledge and understanding of pregnancy and childbirth by participating in maternity research studies.

Research Administrator

Kody has been with the trust since 2023, utilizing their strong administrative and interpersonal skills to support the Urology department, where they assisted with clinic utilization, booked surgeries, and provided patient support. In late 2024, Kody transitioned to the Women's and Children's department as a research administrator, motivated by the significant impact research has as well as the trust's extensive research initiatives. Since joining, they have been actively involved in the DIVO, GENERATIONS, and PIONEER studies, and is looking forward to contributing to the department's ongoing research efforts.